


Murderous Intentions: Freudian Influence In Hannibal

by slingshot



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Character Analysis, Character Study, Freudian Elements, Gen, Meta, Season 1, Will Graham centric, psychology theories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 10:14:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30121194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slingshot/pseuds/slingshot
Summary: A Freudian look at Will Graham's (murderous) character motivations throughout Season 1 and how psychology has influenced the show we know and love.
Kudos: 1





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This work was written as an assignment for a college psychology module. I know the majority of people in psychology now think Freud is a hack because of the sexual stuff. However, his initial ideas of dreams and the mind are still influential. The assignment was to analysis a piece of media using various basic psychology school of thoughts. I chose Season 1 because that is when the primary characters of the Hannibal are introduced and it was before character storylines and personalities became too complicated to explain in a short college assignment to someone who has never watched Hannibal. 
> 
> This analysis does not go entirely too in depth due to the nature of the assignment. I believe much more can be expanded upon since the show and script itself are based on psychology theories.

Conflict drives stories in all mediums of media from literature to the screen. Famous hero-villain conflicts have captured our attention in popular culture such as Batman and the Joker. At times, villains in popular culture are regarded more highly than their adversaries, becoming cultural icons. However, modern day conflict in the media has evolved into a protagonist-antagonist relationship between fictional characters where morality is not always clear-cut. This is in lieu with Freudian view of conflict where internal conflict plays a major role in the individual’s actions and behavior towards society.

As such, Dr Hannibal Lector plays the antagonist to the protagonist, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) profiler, Will Graham, in _Hannibal_ , the present day television adaptation of Red Dragon (1981) written by Thomas Harris. _Hannibal_ , an American psychological thriller-horror series, was developed and directed by Bryan Fuller for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and aired from 2013 to 2015. In _Hannibal_ , Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelson play the characters of Will Graham and Hannibal Lector respectively. The premise of their relationship is patient-doctor, where Lector is Graham’s psychotherapist.

However, this show not only centers between Lector and Graham but also Graham’s inhibition to murder. Freud’s concept of the unconsciousness can account for Graham’s behavior and dreams, characterized by his interactions with Lector and other supporting characters in the show such as Graham’s superior, head of Behavioral Science Unit, Jack Crawford, fellow FBI consultant, Dr Alana Bloom, and the daughter of a murder suspect, Abigail Hobbs.


	2. Id, Ego and Superego

Despite working on the side of the law, Will Graham has the irrational urge to kill. Id is defined as the gratification-oriented part of unconsciousness with no limitations. (Moghaddam, 2005) Due to Graham’s ability to empathize with serial killers, he is able to recreate the thinking and actions of the murder with himself as the killer. Each time Graham uses this ability to recreate crime scenes to solve crime cases; he ends it saying, “This is my design.” Thus, thoroughly putting him in the shoes of the murderers and owning the methods they have used to carry out the design of their crime.

After shooting a murder suspect, Graham admits to Lector in a therapy session in Season 1, ‘Amuse-Boche’, that he “liked” killing the suspect and he felt his actions were “just”. (Fuller, 2013) Lector attempts to appeal to Graham’s id by telling Graham, “Killing must feel good to God, too… He does it all the time, and are we not created in His image?” In addition to Graham’s desire to kill, his ability of empathy enables Graham to have dreams and fantasies of committing murder.

Graham’s work environment in the FBI reinforces his superego. The superego is defined as the ‘internalized moral order derived from cultural surroundings’. (Moghaddam, 2005, p.51) Graham’s superego consists of his conscience and morals. His superego does not view killing as favorable. Crawford argues that Graham left his former position as a homicide detective because Graham “didn’t have the stomach to pull the trigger” in Season 1, Amuse-Boche. (Fuller, 2013) Being in a security agency such as the FBI upholds Graham’s moral order of being ‘right’. In the episode ‘Potage’, Graham answers, “It’s the ugliest thing in the world” to Hobbes’ question about killing in self-defense. (Fuller, 2014) However, Lector psychoanalyses Graham in their first meeting in the episode ‘Aperitif’ stating: “Your values and decency are present yet shocked at your associations, appalled at your dreams. No forts in the bone arena of your skull for things you love.” (Fuller, 2013) Thus, Graham’s superego conflicts with his id.

Graham’s ego allows him to restrain his urges of killing and not commit further acts of murder as the series progresses. Freud (1923/1956) states that ego is made of reason and common sense, affected by external influence. Alongside, the reality principle delays the id from seeking pleasure. (Freud, 1920/1956) Graham is only able to confide his urge to kill to a ‘trusted’ source, his psychotherapist, Lector, as he would get arrested if he did so publicly. Graham is aware that the crime scenes are affecting his urges and considers removing himself from the position of a profiler. However, Crawford persuades him to stay on solving cases. In the episode ‘Buffet Froid’, Crawford says, “I think that the work you do here has created a sense of stability for you. Stability is good for you, Will.” Graham’s ego provides his reply to Crawford, “Stability requires strong foundations, Jack. My moorings are built on sand.” (Fuller, 2013) His ego tries to strike a balance between his id and superego.


	3. Ego Defense Mechanism

Will Graham employs various ego defense mechanisms such as reaction formation, regression, sublimation and rationalization frequently throughout the various episodes. Defense mechanisms are methods that the ego uses to ‘alleviate anxiety’. (Hall, 1954, p. 85. see Freud 1915/1946) Reaction formation is the mechanism of acting on the opposite of the instinct. (Hall, 1954. see Freud 1915/1946) Instead of acting on his aggression, Graham continues working for the FBI using his skills to solve numerous murder cases for benefit of the FBI and teaching potential agents at the FBI academy. His actions help to prevent and resolve acts of violence by others.

Also, he rescues stray dogs that he finds. Thus, helping beings that are in need with compassion. After shooting Hobbes’ father, a murder suspect, in front of her, Graham feels the need to be a surrogate father to Hobbes’ for taking her father’s life. Furthermore, he demonstrates this by buying a Christmas present for Hobbes in Season 1, ‘Oeuf’. (Fuller, 2013)

Graham occupies himself with fishing as hobby, catching fish rather than people. This is an example of sublimation to manage his urges to kill. Sublimation is the substitution of the desire for a socially acceptable aim. (Hall, 1954. see Freud 1908/1933) Graham is shown creating his own fishing lures to fish. Moreover, the symbolism of this sublimation is illustrated with Graham being later framed for murder when human remains are found to make up the material of his fishing lures in the Season 1, ‘Savourex’. (Fuller, 2013) In addition, the idea of sublimation in this context is reinforced as Graham dreams of fishing with Hobbes and likens fishing to hunting while conversing with her, “One you stalk, the other you lure” in Season 2, ‘Takiawase’. (Fuller, 2014)


	4. Interpretation of Dreams

From the Freudian perspective, dreams are the gateway to the unconsciousness. Thus, interpreting dreams will lead one to discover an individual’s repressed urges. Leahey (2013) suggests that ‘consciousness lapses and repression weakens’ during sleep. (p. 267) In particular, Hannibal makes use of this Freudian concept with Graham’s dreams and hallucinations as a storytelling tool. The constant vivid dreams and hallucinations Graham experiences add to his character narration as his grip on reality is depicted as unstable. His hallucinations are a symptom of anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, the acute inflammation of the brain. Graham’s hallucinations and dreams seem to be connected and comprise mainly of the victims from the crime scenes he investigates and a ‘feathered stag’. This supports the idea that ‘dreams are hallucinatory’ in nature. (Leahey, 2013, p.267)

In Season 1, ‘Aperitif ‘, Graham dreams of ‘waking up’ next to the body of victim in bed. (Fuller, 2013) This victim was found dead in her bed and was from the first case he experiences as profiler assigned by Crawford. Hence, showing Graham’s ability to empathize with the victims in cases. 

The ‘feathered stag’ appears in Graham’s dreams when he is close to catching a serial killer, thus becoming a foreboding sign to the audience. The feathered stag is a stag with an outer coat of feathers. This creature had manifested from a scene where Graham investigates a victim mounted on a stag’s head with ravens perched on her corpse in Season 1, ‘Aperitif ‘. (Fuller, 2013) Unknown to Graham consciously, the victim was murdered by Lector. Graham hallucinates the feathered stag outside a crime scene in Season 1, ‘Roti’, and he follows it, leading him to the murderer of the week. (Fuller, 2013) Therefore, it is Graham’s subconscious guiding him in his mission.

It also represents Graham’s connection to Lector, as Graham is able to solve murders with the help of Lector. Latent content is defined as the ‘unconscious content of dreams’ while manifest content is the ‘transformation of the dream’ into reality. (Moghaddam, 2005, p. 53) The concept of latent and manifest content is later demonstrated when Graham chooses to shoot the feathered stag in his dream in Season 2, ‘Mizumono’, the same episode where he decides to betray Lector. After Lector find out about Graham’s betrayal, Lector stabs Graham in his kitchen. At the same time, Graham hallucinates the feathered stag lying wounded on the kitchen floor. (Fuller, 2014)

In conclusion, Hannibal has shown the great influence Freud helms over popular culture, combining psychoanalysis with taboos of murder and cannibalism. The same way villains like Hannibal reside in popular culture, Freud’s theories have also used in therapy, art and politics in the present day. With the concepts of id, ego and superego, ego defense mechanisms and interpretation of dreams used in the show, it has shown that psychology will always play an important role in expressing conflicts and desires on and off screen.


	5. References

Freud, S. (1908/1933). ’Civilized’ Sexuality Morality and Modern Nervousness. In _Collected Papers, 2_ , (pp. 76-99), London: The Hogarth Press.

Freud, S. (1915/1946). Repression. In Collected Papers, 4, (pp.84-97), London: The Hogarth Press.

Fuller, B. (Executive Producer). (2013) _Hannibal_ [Television Series] New York: National Broadcasting Company.

Hall, C.S. (1954). _A Primer of Freudian Psychology_. Cleveland: World Publishing Company.

Leahey, T. H. (2014). _A history of psychology : From antiquity to modernity_ (7th ed) (p. 267) , Pearson New International Edition.

Moghaddam, F. M. (2005) _Great Ideas in Psychology: A Cultural and Historical Introduction_. (pp. 51-53) England, Oxford: OneWorld Publications 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first watched Hannibal, it was a mindfuck Albeit, an aesthetic mindfuck and you're trying make sense of the story like Will Graham's last hanging thread of sanity. The moment I got the chance to do this assignment, my mind immediately jumped to Inception and Hannibal. Both media use these Freudian theories very well to explain character decisions and use elements for storytelling. That is what makes both so good. 
> 
> Safe to say, I have a deeper respect for Bryan Fuller and the script team who realised Will Graham as the main character now. He is not just the main character with trauma, just because he is the main character with trauma. His actions have causes and reasoning. 
> 
> I know this will not get published in any academic form because analysis for a single television show is hardly a thing in the academic world. It's too short to be published and i believe that many points can be further elaborated about Will's character and i've already graduated from college. (Psychology is not my major anyway) So yall can have this on ao3 for free.


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